Ben vs Phantom: A Case Study
by PlutonBlack
Summary: After Jazz's life is saved by Ben 10, she asks to interview him as a psychology project. While getting to know him, she starts to notice some critical differences between him and her brother, the superhero Danny Phantom. Not all heroes are created equal, and the differences between them may cause more problems than it solves. This case study may not be worth the trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Smooth Jazz

You know, I find it interesting in hindsight. The day I met Ben Tennyson, the day he saved my life, was probably the most ironic danger I'd ever been in. Given all the ghost attacks and the fact that there are dangerous laboratories both above and below my house, you think I'd be used to running for cover.

But it's hard to run for cover in a burning building.

Later I learned that it was caused by arson, by a human student with a grudge against some of the school's faculty. Not that it really mattered when I, and three of my classmates were trapped in a burning geology lab, trying to open windows to air the place out. The whole time I kept thinking; where's Danny? Where's my brother? Wondering if he'd come and save me. It's not like he couldn't. Did he even know I was there? I have to believe that if he knew he'd come.

I could see the fire department outside, three floors down, along with tons of other people gathered to watch. Just how much of the building was on fire?

"Hey! Anyone in here?" Called a gravelly voice from behind me. As I turned to look, one of the girls with me shrieked. Not that I could blame her since out of the flames blocking the door stepped a "man" that looked to be made of coals and magma! Not the scariest thing I've ever seen, but I wasn't armed at the moment so…

"G-Ghost! It's a ghost!" The other student screamed.

"What? No!" The creature yelled indignantly, waving his hand so that the flames were absorbed into his palm. "I'm a superhero. I'm here to save you." He said walking up to us. No tact on this guy, as I'd learn soon enough. "Now everyone stand together." Naturally, he got no response out of us, since we were still pretty freaked out. "Um, now please? Before the building collapses on us."

All of us awkwardly bunched up together, still staring at the burning man, who looked only somewhat familiar to me at the time.

"Now try not to freak out." Of course we freaked out. The next thing we know the guy summoned a tornado of flames around us (yes I screamed) like a portal to hades. I clenched my eyes shut as I felt myself being lifted of the ground by a current of warm dry air, and the sound of glass shattering chimed in my ears. Combine that with the shrieking of my classmates and I was sure we were going to die. Till I felt the heat give way to the spring breeze.

When I opened my eyes I was outside, standing in front of a group of paramedics who were running to up to us with oxygen masks and medical kits. "There, see, you're fine." I turned to see the burning man with his hands proudly on his hips, giving us a sly smile. Behind him I could see the fading smoke of the burning building.

"Hey. Mr. Tennyson." Called a fire man, who approached us with the paramedics. "Is that everyone?" The name Tennyson made everything else start making sense.

"I think so, but you may want to look again. I took care of all the fires though." Tennyson nodded, as the emblem I _just_ noticed on his chest started to beep, before a flash of green light overtook his body, and replaced him with a teen with brown hair, green eyes, and a white hoodie.

"Thanks, we owe you one." The fireman smiled, before leading his coworkers into the building.

"Miss? Miss?" I stiffened when a paramedic suddenly stepped in front of me. "Miss are you alright?" He asked me.

"I-I'm fine I just..." I managed to cough out. My throat was dry, and I felt like I had sunburn. "Excuse me I need too…" I tried to step around him. It's kind of embarrassing to admit but I wanted to talk to Ben 10. Ben10! I mean He just saved my life, I may never get this chance again!

"You need to come back with me so we can check your vitals." He said almost pulling me away. He must have thought I was in shock or something and honestly I may have been, but come on. Just before I turned away, I managed to lock eyes with the teen hero, just for a second. He smiled at me in what I can only guess was relief. It was one of the most genuine looks I'd ever see him give.

 **A few minutes later…**

As I sat outside of the ambulance breathing through an oxygen mask my mind kept going back to him. Now before you get the wrong idea, I'm not infatuated. Ben's cute (for a skinny guy) but that's not what interested me. The whole time I was trapped, instead of panicking I kept imagining Danny Phantom phasing through the walls to save me. There was barely a doubt that I would escape in any other way. But then he came.

He just waltzed into the room like it was no big deal and casually saved everyone. Another superhero entirely came out of nowhere. Not an ounce of urgency in his voice, or panic, or fear. The way he spoke was not how I'd imagine a world-famous hero would speak. So laid back, almost smug. And when he smiled at me…seriously don't misread this…he looked normal. Like any other kid his age. Like there was nothing special about him at all. I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but for some reason I just wanted to know what was really up with him.

"Jazz!" "Jazzy!" I jumped when two voices cried out from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts. My parents. I barely had time to stand up before my dad, who's a pretty big guy (he wears an orange jumpsuit, can't miss him) ran up and lifted me in his arms. "Oh man are we glad you're okay! We came over as soon as we heard."

"We were so worried! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" My mom. Blue jumpsuit, red goggles, can't miss her. "Oh my poor baby."

I almost laughed as I hugged my dad back. My parents are weird, but they wear their emotions on their sleeves. Dad was practically blubbering already. "I'm fine dad. I just got a little overheated. Also I breathed in some smoke, so I need my masked back." I said tapping him on the back.

"Right, sorry. Sorry I just…" His lip quivered. Poor guy. "I was so worried. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you or your brother." He said putting me down.

My eyes widened a bit. I hadn't even thought about… "Where is Danny?"

Mom put a hand on my shoulder. "He's fine. He got out with Tucker and Sam. He's actually looking for you too. Oh I should call him!" She pulled out her cell phone.

"Well don't worry about me." I smiled, putting my mask back on. "I'm fine. And as long as Danny's fine I can rest a bit."

"Atta girl." Dad said cheerfully, his eyes still wet with tears. "See Maddie? She gets that from my side of the family!" He said pounding his chest.

"Sure sweetie." Mom rubbed his arm as he struggled not to cry. "How about you get the car so we can all head home?"

Maybe I was being a little insensitive, since they did worry so much about me. But I needed to try something. "Actually, I still need to get my car. You two can head home with Danny." Evidently they did not want to hear that because they both looked pretty shocked.

"But.."

"Are you sure sweetie? I mean are you in condition to…"

"I'm fine mom." I replied cheerfully. I have to talk to Ben Tennyson. I have to at least ask him. Sorry mom and dad but this is for the greater good.

"Jazzy-pants I don't think you should. We can get your car tomorrow." Dad said worriedly.

"I _promise_ I'll be okay dad. I feel better already, I just need a minute."

They gave each other unsure looks, but ultimately I was able to convince them. By the time they were out of sight I practically jumped up and ran back to the building, hoping he was still there. Let me save you the trouble, he wasn't. In fact he wasn't anywhere in sight. I practically fell into another coughing fit just jogging back and forth hoping to get a glimpse of his white hoodie, with the green highlights. Honestly, I was worried that he'd left already. I can only imagine how different the next week of my life would have been if I hadn't stopped and bent over to catch my breath.

"Hey, are you okay?"

When I looked up there he was. Seriously, I'd be amazed if I wasn't emberrased. He gave me the kind of concerned look you give a stranger who's coughing in a restaurant. Worried, but too awkward to know what to do. As I stood up I locked eyes with him again, and I must have been staring pretty hard because he gave me a really confused look. I realized he was barely an inch taller than me.

"Um. Can you understand me?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah sorry." I shuddered. Darn it. Now I look like an idiot. "I was just, um looking for you." Good job Jazz. So smooth.

"Seriously?" He scrunched his eyebrows. "What for?"

"Well to thank you, naturally." I put on my best smile, but I must have be tired because it didn't feel right. I can only imagine what my face looked like to him.

"Oh. Well you're welcome. All in a day's work for this guy." He said pointing to himself. "As long as you're alright."

"I also wanted to ask how long you were going to be in town." So smooth.

He shrugged, as if he didn't even notice the implications of that sentence. "Um. Not sure. A few days, maybe a week. My partner and I are doing a case here."

"Great!" The smoothest. "Then if you don't mind I was hoping that maybe I could interview you."

Because Ben is a mostly rational person he was confused by this. "Interview? Like for a blog or something?"

"No, not that. It's just I'm a psychology major and I thought I'd be cool if I could just, ask you a few questions for a project." God, I sounded stupid. Thanks a lot adolescence. "If it's not too much trouble."

He scratched his head and looked away. "I don't know. I mean I'm not sure if I have time." Come on Ben, just let me have this.

"I won't take up too much time I swear. You can just come by when you're free." I help up my hands. "It's just a project."

"Where you interview me?"

"Yep. Just a few questions."

I was actually surprised when he smiled. A little smug for my taste but reassuring. "Yeah okay. I can do that. Where should I meet you?"

"That's great! Um, let me give you my number." Like sandpaper. He handed me his phone and let me put it in.

"Jazz huh?" He said taking it back. "Like the music?"

Hopefully my smile looked less weird by now. "Short for Jasmine actually. I prefer Jazz."

"Cool. Well I'll keep an ear out." He started to turn away. "Let me know what times good for you." He grinned and waved.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." Really Jazz!? See you tomorrow? He _just_ said… Actually I think he chuckled a bit at that before he started walking away. Not in a condescending way mind you, although for me it hardly made a difference. That was embarrassing. But _did_ get an interview, cuz I always get what I want.

That's why they call me Smooth Jazz….like the music.

 **That night…**

"You did what?" Danny asked me. "Why? Is this because I said no?" I told Danny immediately, like as soon as I got home. Of course we had to talk in private so we were in his room.

"Yes Danny that's exactly the reason." I shrugged. "I saw an opportunity and I took it."

"Why him though?" He crossed his arms, like he was disappointed in me or something.

"Why not? What about him bothers you? You don't even know him." And then it hit me. "Or do you?"

"No, and I honestly hope it stays that way." So much for that theory. "Jazz, the last time a bunch of "heroes" came to town it was to solve Amity Park's ghost problem. A problem that included me."

"So you're just being paranoid."

"I'm being realistic."

"Danny he saved me and a bunch of other people from a fire today. He seems like a nice guy." My brother has his reasons for being cautious, so I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I'm not sure why he's upset now of all times.

"Do you even watch the news? He's a glory hog. He likes the attention. The guy's so full of himself claims he saved the _entire Universe._ "

"Is this the same news that tells everyone you're a menace to society?"

Danny put his hands on his face. "Jazz, something big is happening in Amity Park right now and I'd bet that guy's probably just here to cash in on it. He may fight aliens, but ghosts are a whole different animal."

I sighed, pretty hard in fact just for emphasis. "Danny, that's really not a good enough reason for me not to talk to him. If anything I can find out why he's really here. Besides, I just want to interview him. I already gave him my phone number."

Danny got a…weird look on his face. "Hey." He grinned. You won't believe this. "You could keep him out of the way for us."

"Us?" I frowned.

"Yeah, me, Tucker and Sam." He smiled. "I deal with this new ghost problem before Ben even has a chance to get involved, and we can avoid the whole Super hero fight thing."

"No. Won't work." He looked surprised. "He told me to call him when I had time, but he also made it clear that he was here to work. Sorry bro." I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Danny, I know you're worried. But I'm sure this will all work out. For all you know Ben might be a pretty decent guy."

Danny sighed. Thankfully some of the worry left his face. "Yeah alright." He grumbled. "But I'm not looking forward to this."

Later on when I was in my own room, I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. Would he even show up? And more importantly how far would he let me pry into his personal life? If I'm really going to psychoanalyze a Superhero like Ben 10, what kind of questions should I ask him?

 **A/N: What kind of questions do you think Jazz should ask Ben? Don't be superficial now, and don't be afraid to get personal.**

 **Also, please don't ask about my other story.**

 **I didn't forget about it and I am still working on it, but I'm also an English major. I write almost every day. Sometime I have to break the monotony. Unlike my other stories, every chapter of this one is short and pre-planned. Please be patient, and honest and your critique.**


	2. Chapter 2

Day 1:

As you can imagine, I'm a pretty confident person. So confident in fact, that I wasn't the tiniest bit nervous about having an exclusive encounter with one of the most famous people on Earth. You could even say I was ecstatic. Which is totally the only reason why I was breathing so fast.

Yep, I chew my pencil all the time to psych myself up. And I only look paranoid because I just don't want anyone to come along and ruin this. I mean its Saturday but you never know who's going to show up on school grounds.

I'm fine, swear.

I texted Ben this morning and asked if he'd be willing to meet with me for a short while today. He said yes (Yes!) and agreed to meet me outside of the cafeteria at the lunch benches. All I really have to worry about is how far he'd be willing to take this, or if I can make it worth his time at all.

Wait…what if he'd just been humoring me? What if he doesn't take me seriously at all? Am I too casual? Should I be more professional? Will _that_ make him upset? Darn it, I should have thought this through! He's not some troubled student he's a celebrity, and I have no idea how to talk to him!

And so I wallowed in confusion for a good three or so minutes before I heard a sound like a powerful rushing wind. I stopped chewing my pencil and looked around for the source of the-

"Wassup!"

"Gah!" I yelped (so unprofessional) at the blue creature that just appeared next to me. He was a tallish raptor-like creature that I recognized as XLR8, one of Ben's alien forms. Yeah, I did my research. "Ben?" I asked, rather stupidly. Or course it was Ben.

"Yup. Came over as soon I could." He said quickly. There were little clicks and buzzes in his voice that I couldn't quite place. Maybe it was an alien thing. "So ready to start?" The Omniwtzit on his chest started to beep and in a shimmer of green light he turned back into brown haired Ben.

I collected myself quickly. "Sure, absolutely." I nodded. "Why don't you take a seat?" As he sat down across the table from me I continued. "I really appreciate this. Honestly when I asked you I wasn't sure what to expect in response."

"It's no big deal." He shrugged. "Most people just start asking questions and writing their own answers. Just look at any blog about me."

"Didn't your secret identity get revealed on a blog?" Oh my god Jazz, rude! Horrible way to start!

Ben laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, that'd be Jimmy Jones's blog. He's a huge fanboy, and a conspiracy nut. Nice enough kid though, I guess." Ben then looked me right in the eye, which sort of caught me of guard. His eyes seemed super focused. "So what's this interview about?"

I coughed. "Well, I'm doing a case study as part of a psychology assignment. It's part of a big college application, and I wanted to do it on someone…important."

"And you just happened to meet me?" He smirked. Which made him look kind of douchey, like he thought he'd caught onto something.

"Well honestly, I wanted to do my paper on Danny Phantom." That caught him off guard. Nothing like telling a guy he's your rebound…God that's a gross way to think about my brother.

"You know Phantom?" He asked, like he was asking if I'd seen a movie. He didn't seem as impressed as I'd have liked.

"Sorta. He saved me, more than once actually. But I couldn't get in touch with him." I bothers me how good I am at lying, although I think Ben would have let it go regardless. "In any case, I saw an opportunity when I met you." I folded my hands together, like a professional. "See, my goal is to understand how a teenaged super hero thinks. I want to know if the pressure of having all of that power has any meaningful consequences on your life. I want to know how much it's changed you, and whether you are really happy with yourself."

He blinked dumbly. Like he didn't quite get it. "Deep." He said dryly. Be impressed! "So where do we start?"

"You're sure you're okay with this?" I asked. "Remember you don't _have_ to answer any questions you don't want to, but my study depends entirely on your honesty. I need you to tell the truth."

"I've got…" He stopped and thought. "Very little to hide. Ask away." He grinned, which admittedly, got a grin out of me.

"Great! Well first, I'd like to get to know you a little better. So how old are you currently?" Good start Jazz, you're doing great.

"Seventeen." He answered, rather quickly. "Just turned seventeen last month actually."

"Cool, so what grade does that put you in?" Ben gave me a confused look.

"I'm not really sure." He answered, waving his hand back and forth as though it helped him think. "I don't go to school anymore, I'm homeschooled now. I guess I'm a senior." He shrugged.

Yes! Something interesting. "How long have you been homeschooled? Is this because of your being a celebrity?"

"Sorta. It's mostly cuz I'm always off saving the world. It's like a full time job now. Plus time gets weird when you're in space. I'm just trying to get my GED so I can stay away from school for good." He said with a pushing motion.

And just like that I'm stuck. So many things! I had a list of questions ready but how do I ask about all of that? Where do I start!? Think Jazz, think! "I'm guessing you don't like school very much?" I asked as calmly as my exterior would allow.

He did a waving motion. "Nah. I've always hated school. Everyone always talks about how education is necessary and you gotta do your best to get into college but that's never really helped me." He frowned, pointing at himself. "Really, being a hero is all I care about as far as having a job."

"So school wasn't your thing, huh? Did being a hero ever get in the way of that?" I tried to stay neutral, I did. But this was oddly exciting for me.

"Oh, all the time!" He practically shouted. "Eventually I just stopped for a while." He looked away, in what was my professional opinion, shame. "The pressure just got to be too much."

"Pressure? What kind of pressure?"

He gave me an anxious look. "This isn't going to go public is it?" Note to self, Ben Tennyson is a master of puppy dog eyes. I have competition.

I smiled in what I hope was reassurance. "Absolutely not. This is between me, you, and whoever evaluates it for my application." A complete stranger. Not reassuring.

He seemed relieved enough. "Well, I'm kind of a horrible student. Aside from the fact that I can't sit still for longer than five minutes, I'm not book smart. At all."

"You struggled with reading?"

"And math, and science, and history, and _gym._ " He grumbled.

"Gym too?" Of course gym too, he _just_ said it.

"Yeah, some guys I know used to give me a hard time. I got picked last in everything, and I've never been the most physically fit guy." He chuckled. "I'm not what you'd call 'gifted' you know, in like anything." He rubbed his head nervously.

"So you stopped to focus on school?" I asked. Gotta stay on topic.

"Yeah, after I got into sixth grade I took the Omnitrix off altogether. There just wasn't enough happening for me to do anything with it you know?"

Sixth grade. As in middle school. As in- "Ben, how old were you when you got that watch?"

He smiled confidently. "Well I got _this_ Omnitrix last year. It's a better model. I got the first one when I was ten, on vacation with my grandpa." He held up his arm showing off the watch that I honestly wasn't sure how to feel about. It looked so unimpressive, and yet I knew what it could really do. That thing was dangerous. Also…

"Ten! You've had your powers since you were Ten years old? As in a little kid?" Keep. It. Professional. Jazz.

"You didn't know that?" He asked, like _he_ was surprised.

"I thought that was just some dumb rumor that started because of your name." Ten years old, how could anyone believe that? How does a ten year old keep that a secret?

"Nope, it's true. I found it when I was ten." He smiled, rather impressed with himself. "I've been a hero since day one."

"You did superhero stuff while you were ten?" I must sound like an idiot right now, getting hung up on such a minor detail. But come on. A little kid? Being a superhero?

"Yeah, right off the bat. See the reason the Omnitrix came to Earth is because this warlord named Vilgax was trying to steal it. So after it attached itself to me, he started sending robots and bounty hunters to try and take it back. Naturally, that made a big mess, so I had to learn quick just to protect myself." He said, making gestures that let me know he was enjoying talking about this. He didn't seem the least bit scared or uncomfortable talking about being hunted, at age ten! "And you know, I did other stuff like stop criminals, evil mutants, monsters, and I rescued people." He chuckled. "Those were the days. Now everything is one world ending disaster after the other."

Was he serious? Was he exaggerating? Was he crazy!? "That's…" Say the right thing Jazz, you can do it. "…impressive." Good enough.

"Thanks. I try." He grinned. Nothing about him seemed insincere, but still. He was so…childish. I'm not sure how I should take his word.

"Weren't you scared?" I asked. Funny, I don't remember writing that question down. I should have though. Good save.

"I was scared a lot at first." He shrugged. "Never stopped me though. After a while you just get used to it."

"But, you could have died. A lot."

Ben looked me in the eye, again, which makes it hard not to lock eyes with him. Seriously I don't think I blinked. "Well yeah. I've been told I'm pretty reckless." He said it like was proud of himself. "I've never been worried about getting hurt. That's the beauty of not worrying about consequences, you don't hesitate."

"I've…never thought about it like that." I can think of several things wrong with thinking like that, but that's not what I'm here for. "So when you were a kid, you just decided to be a hero? Fight robots and criminals and stuff? All on your own?"

"Yep. It was easy. I'd always wanted to be a hero, the Omnitrix just made it possible." He held up his arm again. He must be really proud of that watch. "Plus I had my grandpa and cousin Gwen to back me up. They're…" He stopped, he seemed to actually be thinking for once… Don't think things like that Jazz. "They're, smarter than me. They kept me out of trouble, and helped me when I needed it. Really, they're heroes in their own right."

I think I got something. "Why do you say they're smarter than you?"

"Um, cuz they are. Gwen's an A student, she knows judo, karate, and kick-boxing, and grandpa's a space cop with years of life experience." He looked away. "They're the reason I could get away with charging into danger."

"What about your parents? What'd they think of you being a superhero?"

"Heh, um, well I didn't tell them for years." He gave me a nervous look. "I know, I'm a huge jerk. But, I had my reasons."

"I understand." I replied a little too quickly. "Did you think…" Say the right thing Jazz. "Did you think they would hate you?"

Ben made a _very_ incredulous expression at that question, so naturally I panicked internally. "What!? No! My parents wouldn't hate me. I just didn't want them to worry about me. After I took off the Omnitrix I figured it would just be better if they didn't know. When I put it back on, they found out by complete accident." He rubbed the back of his neck. "When I came home with a black eye they asked me where I'd been. I lied right to their faces, with a smile. I've never seen my mom so mad."

"I…see." Oh boy. Cue sweat drops.

"I mean my parents are _super_ chill. They're the most laid back, optimistic people you'd ever meet. They wear their emotions on their sleeves. It never really hit me how bad I should feel for hiding such a big thing from them."

I wasn't sure what to say, or if I should say anything. Should I change the subject? This was making me more uncomfortable than I expected and for all of the wrong reasons. I wanted to keep going though. "How's your relationship now?"

He smiled. "Better than ever. But the night they found out was a mess. My dad even tried to take the Omnitrix off." Ben chuckled. "He broke a lot of tools. They tried to ground me, but when I found out my friend was in trouble I had to ignore them. I told them I couldn't obey them without ignoring the person they raised me to be."

That…actually was really sweet. I wasn't expecting to hear something like that from Ben 10 of all people. "What happened after that?"

"I got grounded anyway." He shrugged. "But only for lying. I was still allowed to be a hero."

"I'm glad that worked out for you." I meant that too. If only that happy ending applied to everyone. But Ben seems to be really close with his parents, unlike…

"Yeah, well enough. Sometimes I worry about them being in danger because of me, but that comes with the territory. Plus my mom has her own weird and powerful friends." He made a weird face with that last sentence.

"So overall, you'd say your at home life is good?" Bring it home now. Time to move on to the next topic. Stay on track.

"Yeah it's great. Whenever I'm not being a hero, my life is pretty laid back." The phrase "laid back" seems like an understatement for you Ben. "No school, no problems with my parents."

Nice try Mr. 10, but that's not the end. "What about close friends? Acquaintances?"

Ben looked around, like he was thinking about something. "Yeah, I got a few. My partner Rook and I are pretty close. Then there's Ester. We went out a couple of times, but we're just friends. Then there's Kevin. He tried to kill me when we were kids but he's over it."

What?

"And there's my girlfriend Kai. We had a bit of a rocky start, but you know…"

No, go back to the killing thing.

"There are a few other people I know, none I'd call real "friends." More like acquaintances I guess."

Explain Kevin! No, actually. We'll get back to that later. "Are all of your friends part of your hero life?" I asked.

"Pretty much. I didn't really start making friends until I put the Omnitrix on. It beats having to introduce yourself as the kid who's no good at anything." He laughed, waving it off.

Depressing.

"It's kinda hard to make human friends though." He kept going. "When everyone knows you as a big time hero, it tends to be all people ever _want_ to know about you. You know?"

"I can see that." I said, a little dejectedly. The way he so casually dismissed "human" friends. The reality of the existence of aliens never really clicked with me until just then. "Does being an alien make you feel…separate from humanity?"

He frowned at the question. "Nah, it just makes me feel closer to everything else I turn into. Like I'm more than _just_ human. People like to accuse me of seeing my aliens as things, rather than people. But they're a part of me."

"Maybe it's because you give them silly names." I joke, in a way I hope isn't offensive.

"Hey," He points at me in fake frustration. "I _like_ the silly names. It's part of the fun. I even called myself _Ben 10_." He laughs. "As long as people know who I am I might as well get in on it."

I laugh too. He was way too chill about all of this, and it really helped ease the tension that was no doubt purely from me. Just as I was about to follow up, his watch began to beep.

He held it up to his mouth. "What's up Rook?"

" _Ben, where are you? I require your assistance."_ So the watch has a communicator. Nice. I want one.

"Something wrong?" Ben frowns, in what's probably worry, but his face isn't serious enough for that.

" _There is no immediate danger. But I require the use of NRG, and possibly Chromastone."_ The voice said. " _At your earliest convenience._ "

"You got it, I'll be right there." Ben said standing up. He gave me an apologetic look. So much for this. "You okay with picking this up tomorrow?" What?

"Really!?" I asked in surprise. I think my voice cracked. "I mean yeah, if you're okay with that."

He smiled. "Great, as long as I'm in town we can talk whenever you want."

Shut up! You're kidding me! "That's fantastic! I really appreciate it."

He pressed something on his watch and a cylinder popped up. When he pressed it down he was engulfed in green light. When I opened my eyes a massive shadow was cast over me, and I looked up to see a gigantic man made of stone!

"Aw come on! Gravattack!? That's like the opposite of subtle." He pressed a hand to his face and sighed. "I'll text you later Jazz." He said floating off the ground and curling into a sphere.

"O-okay." I managed to stutter out as he flew over the school. A giant rock man just flew over the school. Ghosts cannot be weirder than whatever is in outer space.

Smiling to myself I started packing up my notes. At least I got another date out of it…figuratively, as in a meeting between two people. This is serious business. Anyway, what Ben said got me thinking about some things. Most of them related to Danny. I wonder what he's been doing all day.

 **Later, at the Fenton Residence…**

By the time I reached home, I'd already gone over the interview a million times in my mind. Was it any good? What about the questions I'd ask tomorrow, or the day after? Would I need that long? Why wasn't I this good at asking _him_ questions? Did I come off as obnoxious? Did I…

"Hey! Jazzy! You're just in time!" I heard my dad yell as I walked through the door. I barely had a chance to look up at him before he grabbed my arm with a huge grin on his face. "Quick, there's something you need to see in the ops center!"

"Dad Wait a second." I said, still walking. Dad gets really excited, so naturally I still had to follow him. "I've got to stop by my room first."

"It can wait, Danny and your mom are already upstairs." So much for that. I wonder what's gotten him so giddy. Sure enough mom and Danny were already waiting upstairs, amongst our family's observation equipment (Yeah we have a high tech lookout tower on our house, don't judge us). Hey look, Sam and Tucker are here too. Big surprise.

"Jack, what's this about?" Mom asked. Weird that she doesn't know already, they're usually on the same page.

"Alright, so I was monitoring the town for ghost activity, and eating fudge, when I saw something incredible!" He said pumping his arms excitedly. "You won't believe this."

"Was it a ghost?" Sam asks dryly. And rather rudely if I might add. Good think dad doesn't offend easily.

Dad paused and held up a finger. "That's what I thought, but _then_ I saw something cool!" He ran over to the consol. "Check this out." After pressing a few buttons dad pulled up a video on the screen of the computer that showed an image of the sky over Amity Park. "'Kay, now watch closely."

Okay, I was a little interested now. But still this is my dad we're talking about I mean what could it really…

"There! You see?" He yelled. "Right there!"

… _sigh._

"Dad I don't see anything." Said Danny. Good point since there didn't appear to be anything but a few buildings in the shot.

"What?" Dada asked, with a legitimately confused look. He turned back to his screen. "Oh, heheh. Right, forgot to hit play." He chuckled.

Now I guess we'll see what this is all about. Nothing showed up for about ten seconds, but then there was a brief flash of purple over the sky line.

"There! Right there see!?" Dad yelled.

"The flash? Is that what you meant sweetie?" Mom asked. I guess we were all thinking it. I heard Sam grumbling from the corner. Being around such energetic people was too taxing for her.

"Dad, I don't see what you mean. Couldn't that have just been a glitch?" Danny asked.

"That seems to be the case. Well, let's get on with that _project_ we were doing Danny." Tucker added. Right, project. I getcha. Wink.

Dad laughed. "It could have been. But _I_ double checked. Check this out." Dad switched to a different video. This one focused on a cluster of clouds. The video carried on for a few seconds before there was a flash of purple lightning across the sky. "See that!? Cool right?"

Well that was…interesting. I've never seen purple lightning before. Mom seemed impressed though. "Oh my goodness Jack. Is that what I think it is?" She asked, starting to share some of his enthusiasm.

"That's right! That was a corrodium based electromagnetic discharge!" He turned around with a huge grin on his face. "You know what that means?"

"Incredibly high amounts of extra-terrestrial ectoplasmic energy bursts!" Mom shouted with joy. I feel out of the loop but some of those words sounded both familiar and dangerous. "This could be the study of a lifetime." Oh, it's a science thing. Good for them.

"Wait, what's this about extra-terrestrials?" Danny asks.

If you could see the smile on my dad's face right now. He always gets supercharged whenever one of his kids takes an interest in his work. Even if Danny's not _really_ interested in the science part, he just knows that it might be something his alter-ego has to deal with. "Well Danny-boy, here's the whole story. That purple lightning can only be produced by a special radioactive element not found on this planet called corrodium. Whatever ghost gets its hands on it will transform into a super-ghost!"

That's putting it mildly. A _super_ ghost. That just sounds weird. Danny's eyes seemed to bug out a bit.

"Jack, that's just a theory we came up with." Mom pat him on the shoulder. "It's more likely that a piece of corrodium entered our atmosphere through the storm." She put her hands on her hips and stared proudly at the screen. "How lucky are we that it landed so close to Amity Park?"

Not lucky enough.

"Well we gotta go." Sam said, grabbing Danny's arm and pulling him away. I saw her give him a serious look before the three of them scurried out of the room. One guess as to what they're up to.

"Hey dad," I asked. "How does corrodium work?" Get ready for a crash course, dad's an excitable teacher.

"You're gonna love this Jazz. See corrodium is so powerful it can mutate any lifeform that gets over exposed by its radiation into a feral monster." He says, sticking out his fingers like claws. "The longer you're exposed, the longer the mutation lasts. It's amazing."

I kinda winced at that. "That sounds incredibly dangerous. Should you really be getting anywhere near that stuff?"

"Well we have to honey, otherwise the government will swoop in and take it all." Mom replied, as if she were talking about beating the deadline on a sale. Did I mention my parents were crazy? Well they are. "We'll need to reinforce our hazmat equipment, and prepare a special containment unit.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I build the container?" Dad _loves_ his job. "I was thinking of calling it the Fenton _Boo_ Box." He laughed. "Get it?"

"I get it dad." I smile at him. Sometimes you just have to humor your parents and their weird senses of humor.

"We'll have to be quick though." My mom was already pulling some equipment together. "If any ghost's get near it it'll supercharge their ectoplasm, and who knows what damage that could cause?"

I'd started to make my way out of the lab when a thought clicked in my head. Was this the reason Ben was here? I was considering if asking him would be appropriate when I happened to hear something from behind Danny's door.

"Guys, this has to be it." I heard my brother say. "What else could it be?"

"Dude, if it is, you can use this to your advantage. If Vlad thinks he has you cornered now, just wait till he finds out you've got a secret weapon."

"Guys, I don't know. Something about this doesn't feel right."

Yeah, I'm going in. In fact I opened the door without even knocking. "What are you guys talking about?"

Danny practically jumped off of his bed. "Geez Jazz, knock much?"

No.

"What's this about a secret weapon?" I asked as innocently as I can. Sam and Tucker gave each other a worried look that made it pretty obvious they hadn't planned on telling me anything.

 _No offence Jazz, but we're Danny's friends, not yours._ I never forgot when Tucker said that to me. Danny's my brother and I have every right to worry about his safety.

"It's no big deal Jazz." Yeah right. "I fought a ghost today who had a weird power." You're not getting rid of me that easily.

"Was it an old enemy of yours?" I ask.

"No, just your typical glowing-green nameless muscle head." He shrugged. He's not telling me the whole truth.

"With a weird power." I raised an eyebrow.

Danny chuckled. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"And the secret weapon?"

"Just going over a special battle strategy." Tucker lied. Quite horribly. I sigh.

"Danny, are you hiding this from me because you don't want me to worry, or because you don't want me to get in your way?" I ask. It's a legitimate question. I know how it is.

Danny looks away. "Well, I'm just not sure about it yet, and I don't want you to get ahead yourself with the conspiracy theories." Ouch. Not like I didn't ask for that. But then something clicks in my mind.

"You were there weren't you? Where the purple lightning was?" Danny's eyes go wide for a sec.

"Busted." Tucker mutters while Sam pouts. Take that! You can't hide the truth from Jazz Fenton!

"I'm guessing you also found the corrodium?" I keep pressing, admittedly with a smile on my face. "So where is it?"

Danny sighs. "Alright. I did find _something_. My ghost sense went crazy when I was at the mall today so went to go check it out." He frowned. "It lead me to a big open field, and in the middle of it was this busted container filled with little purple stones, no bigger than marshmallows. Before I could figure out what they were I was attacked by some random ghost who reached out and snatched all but one of them right from under me." Then Danny made a weird, grossed out face. "And then he ate them."

Oh…that's…ew.

"His whole body turned purple and he grew to about three times his size." Danny kept going. "I beat him of course." He shrugged. "But not before I shot him with a ghost ray out of the hand I was holding the stone with." Danny started to grin. "I felt this huge wave of adrenalin and my ghost ray was _way_ stronger than I expected. I blasted a huge crater like fifty feet into the ground." He looked down at his hand. "I was barely even trying, and I accidentally blew the ghosts arm off."

"Gruesome." Tucker muttered. I'd have to agree, I don't like the idea of Danny maiming anyone.

"Yeah, but still. It felt amazing." Danny shook his head. "Anyway, the ghost took off after that. Shot straight into the clouds, that's where the purple lightning came from."

This was not what I was expecting, but it's nice to have a little more information at least. Of course now I have a reason to be _very_ worried. "Where's the corrodium?" I asked hastily.

Danny pulls the Fenton Thermos out of his back-pack. "I put it in here, so its ghostly energy couldn't leak out. It really messed with my ghost sense, and I think that other ghost felt the energy too."

I exhaled with relief. "Good, keep it there. Dad says that stuff has nasty effects on living things." Sam and Tucker took a short scoot away from Danny. "That being said, maybe you shouldn't touch it either. We don't know what it will do to you."

"She's right." Said Sam. I feel so special, Sam noticed me. "You said it messed with your powers, who knows what it could do over time."

Danny held up his hands defensively. "I know it supercharged my ghost ray. What if it boosts all of my powers? Think about it, I might never get my butt handed to me again."

"What about your ghost sense, you said it was screwed up?" Tucker said. Points for you Tucker.

"Kinda, but it was more like…" Danny paused. "Like there were too many ghosts to lock onto. Like I could feel a bunch of ghosts at once." He pounded a fist into his palm. "I gotta at least figure out where it came from."

"Dad says its extraterrestrial. Maybe it came from a meteor?" I put out.

Danny shook his head. "There was no crater, and I found it in a broken container." He frowned. "I think someone dropped it."

"You think Vlad has something to do with it?" Sam asks.

I put a hand to my chin. "Who else would try to sneak radioactive elements into Amity Park?" I ask. I don't know all of my brothers enemies, but Vlad is without a doubt the most earthly. He's the only one I know of with human resources.

"It's gotta be." Danny says. Ha! I'm getting good at this. Points for Jazz!

"That might be why Ben is in town." I wonder aloud. Everyone gives me a startled look. Wrong thing to say? Should I retract those points? "Just saying." I shrug.

"Ben? As in Ben 10?" Tucker almost yells. "He's really in town?" He asks with a wide grin.

Danny shoots him a dry look. "Dude, I told you that this morning."

"I don't remember anything before noon." Tucker says defensively.

Sam rolls her eyes. "What difference does that make?" She asks. "It's not like he's gonna be much help. We work away from cameras." We? What's this we stuff Sam? You mean Danny right? "If history has proven anything, he's already under Vlad's thumb." Cynical. But then what do I know? They don't tell me anything.

"Oh yeah." Danny says. "Did you learn anything today Jazz?"

"Excuse me?" I'm legitimately confused right now. Did I learn anything?

...Oh right.

"Danny I told you, I'm doing a real project. I'm not some secret agent." I say with a perfectly justified frown.

"You didn't have to ignore your project, all you had to do was make small talk. You know, ask if he was here on vacation or something." Danny waves his arms dramatically. The nerve of him, acting like I'm the unreasonable one.

"Um, what are we talking about?" Sam asks. Not so nice being out of the loop is it?

"Jazz went on a date with Ben 10." LIES!

"You what!? When!?" Tucker yells. "Did you get his autograph? Did you get his picture? Did he turn into Upgrade!?" He jumps up and grabs my shoulders. I very respectfully shove him to the ground.

"It was an _interview_ for a psychology project." I huff, dusting myself off. "It was this morning, but there was an interruption. I did not get his autograph or his picture, and if it makes you feel better," I pause putting my hands on my hips. "I did see XLR8 and Gravattack."

"Nice!" Tucker gives me a thumbs up from the floor.

Sam clicks her teeth. "XLR8? Gravattack? Seriously?"

I shrug. "I asked him, and apparently he likes the names. He thinks it adds to the fun."

Sam crosses her arms. "Of being a superhero? Being a hero isn't about fun, its serious business." She lectures. "That guy wouldn't be a real hero even if he could turn into Danny Phantom." Yikes, I think I unearthed something terrible. Danny coughs awkwardly and seems to find his shoes rather interesting for some reason.

"What makes you say that?" I ask, trying to sound neutral. "Ben seemed like a decent enough guy."

"Yeah, Ben 10 is awesome, with a capital 10." Tucker cheered.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? The guy is so full of himself he claims he saved the entire Universe. If he's so great where was he all the times Amity Park was attacked by a mega-ghost? Or what about when those Incursions invaded Earth? He sure took his sweet time saving us then."

"But he _did_ save us Sam." Tucker added with a frown. "Besides, you saw the news. They shot him into space."

Sam huffed. "Still, his attitude stinks. He always goes on about how great he is, and everyone else just buys into it. Have you seen the videos online? He actually stops, looks at the camera, and talks about how "awesome" he is."

No Sam I have not seen those videos. But I know what I'm doing tonight. Before I do that though. "You watch Ben 10 videos online?" I ask Sam with a smirk.

Sam's whole face droops and she reels back with a blush that can only be called hilarious. "N-no, I mean…sometimes." She glares at me. "It's not like that!" Danny and Tucker are both staring now. Danny with shock, Tucker with amusement. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She balls up her fist at us. Selective pacifism at its finest.

I hold up my hands defensively. "With all due respect Sam I can see where you're coming from. But I think Ben really wants to help people. I'm not telling you to _like_ him, but maybe he can help you guys out."

Danny shook his head. "No way Jazz, I can't risk it."

"But you still want me to be your agent of subterfuge?"

"I might, if I knew what that meant." Danny frowns. "Jazz please, I'm begging you just…ask him what's up for me. Please?" He places his hands together. Poor baby, he thinks that still works on me.

I cross my arms. "I'll ask him…"

"YES! Jazz you are the best."

"I know. But that's all I'm doing. And it's for my project. I'm just sharing a little bit of info. That's it." I say, with as much finality as I can muster.

"Can you get me and Sam his autograph?" Tucker jumps in. Sam slaps him on the back of the head.

"No. No autographs, no pictures, no more requests." This is serious business. I'm for serious right now. Seriously. "But only, Danny, if you promise not to touch that corrodium stuff until we learn more about it. Okay?" Danny ran up and hugged me. Something he only did if he was _very_ grateful. A rare occasion indeed.

"Yes, you got it sis." He says with a smile.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a paper to start." With that, I walked out of the room.

As I left I heard Tucker say something akin to "Who's you favorite alien?" Followed by a loud "It's not like that!" from Sam. Sam did raise a point though. Maybe I should check out these online videos.


End file.
